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Authors James Kennedy and Jerry Newcomb assert, "When Jesus Christ took upon Himself the form of man, He imbued mankind with a dignity and inherent value that had never been dreamed of before. Whatever Jesus touched or whatever He did transformed that aspect of human life. Many people will read about the innumerable small incidents in the life of Christ while never dreaming that those causally mentioned ‘little’ things were to transform the history of mankind."1John explained the over-riding purpose behind everything Jesus said and did as being grounded in love. "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 While Jesus, explaining the purpose behind his life said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (or more abundantly, KJ) John 10:10 This occurring when men were released from the bondage of sin, freeing them to achieve more than they thought possible, even as they declared allegiance to Christ and followed in his footsteps of love for God and service to others. (Matthew 22:37-40)

And yet, the particulars of his life often seem rather ordinary, the difference being found in Peter’s proclamation of, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:16 (See also Matthew 3:17); accompanied by the fact of the resurrection. An anonymous author summarized Jesus’ life remarkably well by noting that, "Jesus was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself."

"He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race."

"All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life."

For as John said, "In him was life, and that life was the light of man." John 1:4 Philip Schaff affirming that by writing, "This Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander, Caesar, Muhammad, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars. He spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished them far more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise, than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times." 2

More importantly, God himself has spoken, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" Matthew 17:5 (See also 2 Peter 1:16,17)

Footnotes:

1From What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? Nelson Publishing
2Noted historian

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